What happened to these 20 ideas pitched over 20 years?

The Rockford area has had its share of exciting projects that never made it off the drawing board. Here are 20 such ideas pitched over the past 20 years, some of which may come to fruition.

It’s a sliver of what’s been suggested. For this list, we focused on projects that would have drawn foot traffic, tourists or reused old, empty buildings.

Rockford casino

The city bid in 1994 for a riverboat casino anchored on the Rock River but wasn’t granted a state license. It was shut out of subsequent bills to expand gambling. Two decades later, the Forest City is still vying to be included in an expansion of gambling in Illinois. The Rockford Casino Coalition launched an effort in 2011 to show universal support for a local casino. Legislators didn’t act this spring on a proposed gambling expansion that would include Rockford, but the topic may return in the fall.

Rockford Aquarium

A nonprofit group called Rockford Aquarium incorporated in July 2010 with a goal of bringing a world-class aquarium to Rockford. The idea hatched in 2008 to bring the aquarium to the old National Guard Armory on North Main Street. The nonprofit is still working toward its goal, although it’s not tied to a specific location. Most recently, Rockford Aquarium helped bring a 150-gallon saltwater fish tank to Burpee Museum as part of its Megalodon exhibit, which ended in April.

National clown museum

In 2006, Chris K. Johnson, a member of the Winnebago County Board and the International Shrine Clown Association, proposed turning the armory into a “Cooperstown for clowns.” The idea never picked up much steam, in part because of the high cost to bring the building up to code and the proximity of similar museums in Wisconsin.

Whitewater rafting

In 2003, the idea to create a whitewater rafting park on the Rock River south of Fordam Dam was proposed and adopted by the River District Association, a downtown advocacy group. Mayor Larry Morrissey, a past River District president, continued to support the plan after his election in 2005, but he cautioned that it would take time because of the multitude of jurisdictions involved. The plan got a boost this summer from ComEd, which is completing an environmental cleanup of a former power plant near the site, one of the first steps needed to move toward the park.

Firefighters museum

In October 2006, David “Buzz” Carlson, a retired fire-protection engineer, pitched the idea of turning the empty Barber-Colman factory into the official museum to commemorate firefighters across the nation. Rockford-area leaders like Sen. Dave Syverson, former Ald. Victory Bell and then-President E.J. Dilonardo of the firefighters union called public meetings to discuss the plan. Ultimately, the cost and competition from similar-style museums in the Midwest halted the effort.

Industrial heritage museum

Tinker Swiss Cottage received a $400,000 grant in 2010 to turn the former Nelson Knitting Co., 909 S. Main St., where iconic red-heel socks were made, into a museum honoring the city’s industrial heritage. The plan was scrapped and the grant returned when the Rockford Park District and the building’s owner, John R. Cook, couldn’t agree on a purchase price. That eventually led to a lawsuit that the district settled by paying Cook $225,000 without taking ownership of the property.

Car museum

In 2007, developer Kurt Carlson pitched the idea to turn a former used-car lot at 5400 N. Second St. in Loves Park into a museum of classic cars. Over the next three years, several ideas were pitched for the property, including a landscape company/nursery and Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, but the site is empty.

Kiddieland 2.0

In 2010, Carlson also wanted to revive the once-popular amusement park called Kiddieland, which closed in the late 1970s. It had been a local attraction along Forest Hills Road for years. Carlson, the developer of Carlson Ice Arena and Road Ranger/RiverHawks/Aviators Stadium, had some of the equipment needed, including leftover track for a small train that he set up behind the stadium. But that was as far as the quest ever got.

Sinnissippi Tower

Rockford’s version of the Seattle Space Needle was pitched in 2002 as part of the Park District’s 10-year plan to redevelop space along the Rock River. The tower would have been hundreds of feet tall and included an observation deck for residents and tourists to view the horizon. It was included in initial sketches for the Park District’s 10-year plan but never moved forward.

Carousel Park

Also a part of those preliminary Park District plans was a concept for an amusement park near the museum campus that houses Discovery Center and Burpee Museum. Early sketches also showed a suspension bridge connecting the east bank of the Rock River to the museum campus. Like Sinnissippi Tower, it didn’t go much further than preliminary talks.

IMAX Theater

In 1999, Burpee Museum and the Discovery Center received a grant to study whether a six-story IMAX Theater would be feasible here. Burpee quickly bowed out; the Discovery Center included the IMAX in its initial $30 million expansion plans. Discussions with similar-size cities that had IMAX theaters led them to believe that there wouldn’t be enough demand. The center instead focused on expanding space for traveling exhibits.

Auto racing track

In 1997, Carlson proposed building a road racing track on 150 acres he owned near Paulson and Harlem roads in Loves Park. The Loves Park planning commission rejected the proposal when would-be neighbors presented a petition with 600-plus names against it. In 2001, the Chicagoland Speedway opened in Joliet, killing any chance of a race track being built here.

Cherry Valley zoo

In 1997, Ryan Cole proposed a zoo in Winnebago County to show off more than 100 abandoned exotic animals he was housing in Freeport. The county rejected the proposal, so Cole looked at land in the Boone County section of Cherry Valley. He was eventually able to get conditional approval, but the plan was dogged by lack of money and complaints over how the animals were being handled. By 2004, World Wildlife Kingdom, the nonprofit animal sanctuary that was formed, was bankrupt and forced to give away the few animals it still was caring for.

Davis Park amphitheater

In 2003, a study prepared for the group that oversees BMO Harris Bank Center, the Coronado Theatre and Davis Park proposed building an amphitheater at Davis Park so it could attract more musical events. That idea is not officially dead. It is on hold while the city works out plans to redevelop the Ziock Building, which was last home to manufacturer Amerock.

Education center

In 2004, the city asked ABC Supply founder and civic benefactor Ken Hendricks to come up with a redevelopment plan for the vacant Barber-Colman textile factory on Rock Street. Several months later, he proposed a $42 million plan to turn the hulking factory into a center for higher education that would have space for Rock Valley College, Rockford College and any other such entity. Hendricks walked away from the plan in 2005; he died two years later. The city still owns the property and occasionally shows it prospective developers.

Rick Nielsen’s restaurant/guitar museum

In 2007, Brent Johnson, owner of Ringland-Johnson Construction in Cherry Valley, and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen announced plans for a $25 million hotel and convention center at North Bell School Road and Interstate 90 that would showcase Nielsen’s collection of 400 guitars. The Great Recession began a few months after the announcement, freezing credit, causing Nielsen to look in the Chicago area. It still hasn’t opened. As for the Bell School land, SwedishAmerican Health System ended up building a cancer center there.

Passenger rail

People have been advocating a Rockford-to-Chicago train ever since Amtrak stopped coming here 33 years ago. In April, Gov. Pat Quinn said the state would spend $223 million to upgrade Union Pacific’s rail line to allow trains to come to Rockford from Elgin. The first trains are expected to roll into town in 2015, with a second train scheduled for 2016.

Downtown hotel

From 1998 through 2007, four development groups stepped forward with plans to turn the long-vacant Ziock Building, 416 S. Main St., the city’s first skyscraper, into either hotel or condominium space. None of the plans got very far. A fifth group, Gorman & Co., stepped forward this year with a $52 million plan to turn the complex built in 1903 into a hotel and convention center.